Page 39 of Sound and Deception

“Aren’t they the cutest window dressing? They definitely have their uses. I need to fuck, well, Hannah will do anything to please me. I tell you, that woman will do down and dirty. I just have to tell her where I plan on sticking it and she’ll let me.”

Disgust wormed its way through me and I bared my teeth at him. “Asshole. She’s probably terrified to say no.”

He appeared confused for a moment, before the fake smile disappeared and his voice turned matter-of-fact. “You’ll probably go into shock soon, so you might want to consider trying to get back to the main house. I won’t stop you. At least, not quite yet. You may even have a chance. I mean, after all, shit happens, even to me. You know how Komodo dragons hunt? Want to know? It’s pretty neat actually. They bite their victim, and let all their delicious bacteria invade the wound, before locating their weakened prey again, and eating it. The method is efficient, and it helps the animal conserve energy.”

I couldn’t think. The knock to my head had me fuzzy and nauseated, the pain in my thigh like a continuous localized lightning strike. And Jay was right. I could feel symptoms of shock moving in.

As much as I wanted to, there was no point in attempting to reach Noah’s house. He’d never let me get that far. I tried to consider alternatives, but any semblance of logic wouldn’t come. The only thing I knew is that I needed to try. It wasn’t in my nature to give up, and I wasn’t ready to shrivel up and die.

“Why would you bring me … here?” My brain seemed stuck in a tilt-a-whirl and wouldn’t stop. I pressed one hand against my head, as fruitless as it was. Nothing made sense. “Why so close to Noah’s?”

He stared at me for a long minute before he smiled again. “Doesn’t it give you hope, Klahanie? It’s not very far away, is it? Your car, too. Both are right around the corner, practically. A very short walk, right? Hope is a powerful emotion. It’s also one of the most devastating to lose. That, and love.”

It occurred to me he had every intention of destroying my spirit before murdering me. That was part of his thrill. Despite my pain and fear, a razor edge of anger split through. I knew I needed to hold onto it, no matter what.

Think. Think!There was something Noah had said about the tiny cabin. It was in crap shape, but there was something else. Something specific. My head felt like it was splintering into pieces.

Wait. What was it again? ‘You could dig your fingers into the dead wood of those stilts.’ That’s what it was. The two beams supporting the weight of the structure over the embankment were disintegrating. He’d said he could push it down himself if he wanted to wear the house as a hat. The odds of me surviving until tomorrow seemed remote, but maybe I could at least try to take the bastard with me.

I shifted my good leg to take the brunt of my weight and bit back a scream when the wounded one took a share. With both hands, I reached out to grasp the edge of the counter and pulled myself upright.

Jay watched, unblinking. The once familiar light of good humor no longer lived in his green eyes. What replaced it was a primal excitement.

A wave of dizziness swooped through me and I closed my eyes to listen to my breathing and willed it to pass. A moment later, I hobbled toward the door. Each small step agony, I gritted my teeth and focused on feeding my anger.

Hugging the wall, I had to pass Jay. He didn’t move, so I was forced to brush against him, and my nausea and fear spiked. I wondered how he’d feel if I puked on his expensive boots and almost giggled.

“How you doing there Hanes? I have to say you’re not looking so good.”

“Fuck you.”

“Oooo. Quite the potty mouth you’ve got going there. How would your dear Gram feel about that?”

I wanted to say she would happily splash kerosene on his balls and light them on fire, but conserved my energy.

Bitter cold wind smacked me in the face when I limped outside, and I tucked my chin against my chest, glad I wore a hoodie, sorry that’s all I had, unsure if it even mattered. To the right, wooden steps zigzagged down toward the waterline, and under the structure. I headed that way and reached for the railing.

Jay stayed right with me. If the wind shifted direction, I expected to smell his sweat. I ignored him, taking short steps while my shaky breath plumed around me.

“Where you going, Hanes? You plan on swimming for it? Huh. I hadn’t considered that. Not sure if I like it. ‘Course, any sea critters in the vicinity will smell blood and come around looking for a bite. Think that’s your best decision, Klahanie?” He continued, his tone conversational. “I always thought being eaten by something, especially a shark, would be one of the worst ways to die. Don’t think there’s many Great Whites that come around here much, but I’m sure something else might come calling. I think I’d rather be killed by a sociopath.”

He guffawed and I just continued to creep forward. Right down a step, left down a step, bite back a scream, right, left, bite back a scream. The rhythm, and my anger kept me focused, but I didn’t think it would stay that way for long. Splinters from the railing slid into my palms, but I plodded on.

“So, how’s Noah in the old sack? Slow and gentle, or is he an animal? Probably depends on how many of his screws are loose, huh? Can you still walk after a good fuck?” He goaded me from less than a foot away.

I made it to the landing. From there, it angled down to the rocky beach. The last step ended about six feet from the first stilt.

“You know, when we were in high school, I’d daydream about fucking you in the bathroom. You know that? Always thought you were a cute little bitch. But damned Noah always hung around. It was annoying as all hell.”

I reached the bottom and hesitated, one hand clutching the rail. Dizziness swirled around black dots in my vision and I blinked hard to clear them. Sweat covered my overheated face, and my muscles trembled. Gravity pulled me down, but I fought back until Jay kicked me in the back of the leg and I went sprawling.

“Oops! Sorry, Hanes. My bad.”

When I fell, I bashed my right side against the craggy bulge of one of several boulders a couple feet from the closest stilt. Sharp pain pierced through my ribcage, followed by an additional blast when the knife in my leg smacked against rough sand. A whimper escaped my throat, and darkness clouded my vision, but I gritted my teeth and tried to think. Despite the rot, the likelihood of me making any kind of impact seemed impossible. If the beams were as bad as Noah said, wouldn’t they have snapped already? Then again, storm season hadn’t kicked in yet. The summer had been pretty mild from what Gram had said. Making up my mind, I army crawled under the cabin. Boulders blocked me from approaching from the outside of the beam, so I became very aware of what was above me and what the ramifications might be, if there was no place for me on the other side.

“Where you going? Not going to try to swim for it?” His voice held a touch of confusion, and I was happy to hear it. It was definitely better than the smarmy tone from before.

I crept past the stilt by a few feet, thankful to find a tiny space between rocks to cram myself. Being small had been a chronic irritation my whole life. Now, I was thankful. Cold, rough stone pressed in around me, digging into my ribcage, and setting off another internal shriek of pain. With effort, I pushed from my belly to back, and tucked my legs into a fetal position. The beam now stood within distance of a well-placed kick.

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